Get Over It
by stardust469
Summary: Their drumer has broken his arm and with no one to fill in the guys may have to cancel their show. Their only hope is Garbo's cousin Alex. The only problem is Alex and Joe can't stand each other. Can they get along for the sake of the band and the fans?
1. The Replacement

**OK so just so you all know this is my first time posting a story so any criticism is greatly welcomed!**

**Oh and I do not own anyone or anything except for Alex!**

**Enjoy!**

It was 2 O'clock in the afternoon on July the fourth and a group was gathered around the outside of the tour bus. Everyone was oddly quiet and everyone's attention was on the cell phone in Joe's hands. "Why haven't we heard anything yet." said Nick.

"Just give it time." said Kevin.

Suddenly the phone went off everyone jumped a bit and looked at Joe as he answered the phone.

"Hello?" he said. The group watched quietly as the conversation continued with very little being said on their end. "Okay man. Take care of yourself. Bye." Joe said and then lowered the phone from his ear and turned it off.

"Well?!" said Ryan, anxious to hear what had been said.

"Well, it's broken. Flawless will be out of the tour for at least ten weeks." Joe sighed.

"What are we gonna do now?" Said John

"Well we don't have much of a choice we need to find another drummer." Said Kevin, "But I don't even know where to start looking. We don't have much time before the show tonight, looks like we'll have to cancel unless someone has a drummer up their sleeves."

"We can't cancel! The fans are already starting to line up outside." exclaimed Nick.

"This is my fault; it was my idea to go go-carting before the show." sighed Joe.

"It's nobody's fault Joe." Said Kevin, "Nobody knew that Jack would be such a bad go-cart driver, so does anyone have any ideas?"

"I might." Said Garbo thoughtfully, everyone turned their attention to his as he looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Yeah?" said Nick.

"I have a cousin that lives about an hour north of here that can play." He said.

"They any good?" asked John.

"Yeah Alex is the one of the best, could even give Flawless a run for his money I bet." said Garbo.

"Well lets not waste any time let's go check this Alex out!" said Kevin.

The group all loaded the bus and made their way onto the road. They hadn't been on the road for more that forty-five minutes when the bus pulled off the highway and into a small town. They pulled up in front of a small music store on what appeared to be the main street of the town. As they got out of the bus they looked around finally someone spoke up. "Where are we?" asked Joe.

"This, my friends, is my uncles Music store. I guarantee that Alex is inside." said Garbo. The group headed though the door and into the small store. As they entered they looked around and took in the sights. Everywhere they looked was instruments, guitars, drum kits, violins, trumpets and more, basically if it could be played it was there. At the store counter there was a guy in his mid twenty's who looked up from his magazine at the sound of the group entering. Garbo approached him and asked. "Alex here?"

"In back getting something. Be right up." He mumbled as he went back to the magazine.

Suddenly a door near the counter opened and a person carrying a large box entered, all that could be seen was their jeans and converse. "Alex is that you?" asked Garbo.

"Greg?" A voice responded. The box was quickly placed on the floor and a grinning girl could be seen. The guys took in what they saw, behind that box had been a girl, probably closer to twenty years old wearing jeans, converse, a black t-shirt and a black and pink zippered hoodie. She was around five and a half feet tall with dark hair tied up in a pony tail. She ran over to Garbo and jumped on him wrapping her legs around him and hugging him tightly. "I didn't expect to be seeing you anytime soon! How are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be on tour! I missed you sooo much!" She exclaimed.

"Hey Alex!" Garbo said as he hugged her back, "I'd like to introduce you to some friends of mine. These are the guys I've told you about. This is Kevin, Joe, Nick, John and Ryan."

"Hey." said Alex as she looked at the guys. They all looked at her skeptically. "So Greg what's going on? Don't you have a show tonight or something?" she asked.

"Well that's what I'm here to talk to you about. See, our drummer busted up his arm go-carting earlier today and we're kinda in a jam." said Greg.

"What can I do for ya?" Alex asked.

"Well I kind of suggested that maybe you could fill in." Garbo mumbled.

"What?!" said Alex. "Well you must be dreaming." She said as she turned back to the box she had been carrying. She quickly picked it up and carried it across the store.

Garbo chased after her and placed a hand on her arm. "Come on, for me." He pleaded.

"No I can't." she replied as she shook her arm away from his and continued to walk away.

Suddenly Joe spoke. "Hey man, if she can't do it, she can't do it. Besides she's a girl." The rest of the group looked at him with surprise, especially Garbo.

"Oh so pretty boy here doesn't think I can play." said Alex. Joe looked at her, slightly insulted. She put the box down again and walked over to the nearest set of drums and sat down. She pulled some drumsticks out of her back pocket and began to play. As the guys listened their jaws couldn't help but drop except for Garbo's which broke into a big grin.

Finally Alex stopped playing. Nick was the first to break the silence, "Wow, you were right, she is good." He said.

"But does she know any of our songs?" asked Joe.

"I doubt it, teeny bopper pop crap isn't it? Do you have any recordings with you?" Alex asked. Garbo handed her a copy of the brother's latest album, and said "Number 4" Alex took and walked to the back of the store. Once she had gone through the door the boys started talking.

"Where is she going?" asked Kevin looking at Garbo in confusion.

"I gave her a copy of the album, she's gonna listen to 'That's just the way we roll' and then be right back." stated Garbo.

"There's no way she can learn the song just by listening to it once." scoffed Joe.

The group continued debating over Alex's talent when she walked back through the door. They all turned silent as she approached the drums. Before she took a seat she looked at Greg and said. "Go grab some instruments; I'm sick of playing alone." He did as she said and motioned for the rest of the band to do the same. Once they had all found something they were comfortable with, Joe just stood off to the side watching what was going on, they looked stood looking at her waiting to see what she would do next.

"Nick, want to count us in?" asked Garbo.

"One, Two, Three, Four!" shouted Nick.

The band began to play and Joe watched Alex carefully as the band played the guitar intro. "There's just no way she can do this." he thought to himself as he watched her listen for her cue to play with a look of concentration on her face. Then she began to play. There were other words to describe her playing but amazing. 'She's almost as good as flawless!' Joe thought to himself. When the song ended everyone looked at Alex with a new found respect.

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Kevin.

"That rocked!" said Nick. The rest of the band murmured in agreement.

"So will you help us out cuz?" asked Garbo doing his best puppy dog face.

"I don't know man. I have lessons later that I'll have to cancel and besides pretty boy over there doesn't seem so sure." she said gesturing towards a yet again offending looking Joe.

"It could work;" He said "besides the show is tonight we don't have many options left we don't find someone now we'll have to cancel."

"Come on Alex." Garbo pleaded.

"Fine, you know I could never resist that puppy dog face of yours." Alex said with a reluctant grin. The rest of the band cheered. "Let me just make a few phone calls and then we can head out."

The guys headed out to the bus to wait for Alex while she made her calls. "What is your problem Joe?" Nick asked. "She was great what's all this it could work crap."

"I don't know there's just something about her. Don't ask me to explain it. I konw she's your cousin Garbo but she's not what I was expecting. Why didn't you tell us Alex was a chick?" Joe said

"Well I didn't realize that Alex being a girl would affect the way you thought of her. Besides since when do you have a problem with girls?" Garbo asked.

"I don't have a problem with it in general, it's….. I don't know, whatever what's done is done and we do need someone I'm going on the bus." said Joe and with that he got onto the bus while the rest of the group watched him with confused looks on their faces.

Alex emerged from the store and made her way towards the group. "Ok let's get going." she said and with that the group loaded onto the bus. As the bus made its way back to the highway, Alex and Garbo chatted excitedly at the front of bus while the rest of the band chatted quietly near the back.

"Where's Joe?" asked Nick.

"I think he's sulking in the back room." said Kevin. "I wonder what his problem is?" he asked.

"I think he didn't like being called pretty boy." said John with a chuckle.

"Or maybe he just used to girls falling all over him." said Ryan. "Alex is the first chick I've seen around him lately that wasn't asking for an autograph or picture."

"He'll get over it." said Garbo, as he joined the rest of the band. "Alex has always had an ability to make people dislike her. The way she puts it she is who she is take it or leave it."

"What is she doing now?" asked Nick.

"Oh she's up front. I gave her a copy of the set list and recordings of all the tracks." She'll be good to go by tonight.

The band passed the rest of the trip chatting near the back of the bus while Alex sat upfront alone preparing for the show. Finally they arrived at the venue and everyone got off the bus, excluding Alex who was still working away at learning the songs, and made their way backstage. They had just finished their sound check when Alex joined them. "Hey guys." she said then she noticed the stage and her jaw dropped. "Wow this is awesome! I'd never thought I'd be up on this stage! I mean I've been in the crowd here but I never thought I'd be on stage here." She rambled excitedly. When she realized how silly she sounded she quickly regained her composure. "So, what's next guys?" she asked.

"Well I don't know about the rest of you but I'm starved!" said Joe. There was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the group as they made their way to the brothers' dressing room.  
The group had ordered pizza earlier and were happy to see that had been delivered while they were sound checking. Everyone grabbed a slice and found some where to sit down.

Nick found his way over to Alex who had seated herself on a couch in the corner of the room away from the rest of the group. "Hey Alex." He said.

"Hey, it's Nick right." she asked him as she smiled at him.

"Yeah, so I just had to ask you, can you seriously just listen to a song once and just know how to play it? I've never seen anyone do that before, well I've seen it done but only after they listen to it a bunch of times." He asked.

"Yeah, I can play almost anything by ear." She answered between bites. "I heard from Greg that you play too. When we're done here you should show me what you got curly." She said as she tousled his hair and got up to get another slice. She made her way over to the table. When she got to the table 

she grabbed herself another slice and a bottle of water. She looked across the table to see Joe gleefully stuffing his face. "Be careful Pretty boy, you might swallow your hand eating like that." she said to a chorus of laughter from the guys. "Hey curly!" she shouted over the laughter, "Did you want another slice?"

"Yeah, thanks." Nick answered. Alex grabbed another slice from the box and made her way back to the couch, ignoring the sour look on Joe's face. "Thanks Alex." Nick said as she handed him his slice as she took her seat next to him. "So is Alex short for Alexandria?" he asked as he took a bite of his pizza.

"No, Alexis, but everyone calls me Alex." Alex answered.

"I like it, Alexis, much cooler than Alexandria." He said as he took another bite. When they had finished their slices they both got up and headed out of the room.

"Where are they going?" asked Joe gesturing to Nick and Alex who were now through the door.

"I think they are just going to fool around on the drums for a bit." answered Garbo.

"Oh" said Joe.

"I think I'm gonna have to tag along." said Kevin as he headed out of the room. He walked into the hallway and made his way towards the practice room. As he approached the door he could hear the two talking.

"Try it like this" he could hear Alex saying followed by the sound of drumming. As he entered the room he could see Alex seated at the drums pounding away. When she had finished she got up and motioned for Nick to take a seat. He did and proceeded to do what she had just shown him.

After he had finished he looked up at Alex and said "Wow that was easier."

"I know it's all in the wrist." She replied

"Hey guys" said Kevin. "Hope I'm not interrupting."

"Nah, I'm just teaching Curly here some tricks I know." said Alex as she started to pace the room.

"Alex, you wouldn't by any chance be nervous." asked Nick as he watched her pace back and forth on the floor.

"What would make you think that?" she asked as she continued her pacing.

"Well maybe the fact that if you keep that up you'll wear a hole in the floor." Kevin pointed out.

"Honestly you guys, yeah I am. I mean I play a lot and I mean a lot I probably play more than I do anything else but never on a stage that big before." she confessed. "I don't know how you guys do it."

Suddenly Ryan poked his head in the door. "10 minutes guys." He said and then continued on his way.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Alex said as she turned a slight shade of green and bolted out of the room towards the nearest bathroom.

"Nick I'll go check on her you go make sure that Joe is ready to go ok." said Kevin as the two made their way out of the practice room.

Nick made his way down towards the dressing room. "Hey Joe, you in here?" He asked as he poked his head in the room, he looked around and saw Joe in front of the mirror finishing his hair.

"Yup just finishing up." Joe answered as he turned around. The two brothers made their way out of the room and down the hall, as they rounded a corner to head towards the stage he noticed Kevin standing outside the girls' washroom. "What are you doing out here?" asked Joe but before Kevin could answer a slightly pale looking Alex opened the door.

"You ok?" asked Nick. Joe got a confused look on his face.

"Yeah I'm fine." answered Alex as she smiled weakly at Nick. Her face a still slightly pale and there was a hint of sweat on her forehead.

"Hey guys get the lead out, we only have a few minutes." shouted Garbo from down the hall.  
The group made their way down the hall and through the door that Garbo had disappeared through. Alex found herself standing just off the side of the massive stage, the murmuring crowd could be heard around the corner. Alex began to turn green again. "So you ready?" said Grabo as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. When she didn't answer right away he looked at her closely and noticed how pale she looked. "You going to be ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, just a little bit of nerves." She answered with a weak smile on her face. "I'll be fine."  
Garbo gave her an encouraging smile and grabbed her hand as the announcer began to announce the band. "Here we go!" he said as the band rushed onto the stage. Alex took her seat behind the drums and the band began to play.


	2. No Permanent Damage

**Again I still own nothing except Alex :(**

When they had finished their final song the band made their way off the stage to the sound of screaming fans, "Oh My God! That was freaking awesome!" screamed Alex as Greg picked her up and spun her around.

"You totally nailed it!" shouted Greg over the screams. He put her down and the group made their way to the dressing room, everyone congratulating each other for an amazing show.

"Now that's how you kick off a tour!" said Ryan enthusiastically as he flopped down on a couch in the dressing room. "And Alex, you rocked!"

"Yeah you did a great job Alex." said Kevin, Nick nodded in agreement as he took a drink from the bottle of water he had grabbed off the table.

"You guys are the one's who did a great job, I was just along for the ride." she replied as she shook her head. "Now if you boys would excuse me for a minute I drank a lot of water." she said as she made her way out of the room and down the hall.

The group continued chatting when Joe approached Kevin and Nick who had been talking in a corner. "Hey guys, what are you talking about?" he asked.

"Well, we were thinking…." said Kevin slowly

"About?" asked Joe.

"Asking Alex to stay on tour with us." Nick said. Nick and Kevin both looked at Joe awaiting his answer. When Joe didn't speak for a moment Nick asked "Well what do you think, she fit in really well tonight. It would only be until Flawless' arm is healed."

"If that's what you guys want I'm fine with it." Joe said his facial expression unreadable.

"Well I'm going to ask Garbo to ask her, he is her cousin after all." said Kevin. He made his way across the room to where Greg and the rest of the band had congregated on the couch followed by Nick.

While the rest of the band chatted Joe made his way out of the room and quickly down the hallway. Just as Joe rounded the corner he collided into someone both of them crashing onto the ground.

Alex had been making her way back to the bands dressing room when she suddenly found herself knocked to the ground and pinned underneath her assailant. She cursed quiet loudly as she rubbed her head which had hit the floor quite hard and felt strong arms help her into a sitting position. She opened her eyes to see Joe with a concerned look on his face. "Are you ok?" he asked.

Alex continued to rub her head lightly. "No permanent damage. Where were you rushing off to Pretty Boy?" she asked.

The concerned look on Joe's face soured slightly. "Why do you call me that?" he asked

"I don't know," she replied sarcastically, "maybe the fact that you look like you spend more time on your hair in one day than I do in a month." Joe's expression was still slightly sour but had softened a bit. "Your whole 'she's a girl thing' didn't really help your case either you know." She said with an annoyed look on her face.

Joe's face softened. "I'm sorry Alex, I was just kind of shocked. Garbo didn't tell us what to expect."

Alex still looked annoyed "That's not really an excuse you know. We don't live in the stone age anymore." she said as she struggled to stand up. Joe stood up and reached out his hand to help her up. Alex just shrugged it off and finally managed to stand up instantly regretting it as she grew dizzy. Joe reached out to steady her and this time she reluctantly accepted his help since she didn't want to end up on the floor again.

"You did do a really good job tonight." He said as he helped her down the hall.  
"For a girl you mean." she said as she shook off his arm and proceeded slowly down the hall her balance slowly coming back to her.

"No that's not what I said." He replied growing slightly annoyed 'why does she have to make it so hard to apologize?' he thought to himself as he followed her slowly down the hallway ready to steady her if she faltered. "Why can't you just take the compliment?" he asked.

"Fine, thank you." She said. "You know, you can really sing pretty boy." She said as she looked sideways at him as he shot her a dirty look. As she did she slightly lost her balance and started to fall. Joe reached out and steadied her. "Thanks" she said. The finally made their way back to the dressing room and by then Alex had regained her balance although her head still throbbed slightly. They parted ways and Alex made her way over to her cousin.

"Well I think I'm going to head home." she said as she reached Greg.

"You not going to come to the after party?" asked Nick. Who had been standing next to Garbo.

"I'd love to curly but I have a headache, I don't think a party would make it any better." She said as she rubbed the back of her head and cast a glance over at Joe who was chatting with Kevin.

"Do you need a ride home?" asked Ryan.

"No I can drive myself, Dad dropped off my car a while ago." She replied as she shook her head immediately regretting it as her head now pounded twice as hard.

"Can I talk to you before you leave then?" asked Greg.

"Sure." She said, "Talk."

"Out in the hallway?" he asked. Greg led his cousin out into the hallway and shut the door behind them.

"What's up?" Alex asked him with a slightly confused look on her face.

"Well me and the guys talked while you were out and we were thinking…" he said Alex beginning to look more confused. "Would you be interested in coming on tour with us?"

Alex looked surprised at first and then her expression suddenly changed. "I don't know cuz…." She replied thoughtfully. "I mean Dad's gonna need my help in the store and I have lessons to teach. I mean I have obligations here man. It was fun; don't get me wrong I loved it, but…"

"But nothing, your Dad will be fine without you. Someone else can cover your lessons, heck you could charge more for lessons after this!" Alex opened her mouth to respond but Greg cut in. "You don't have to answer right now, say you'll think about it over night and I'll call you tomorrow. Please." Greg made his best puppy dog face.

"Fine." Alex sighed knowing she was fighting a losing battle. "But I'm telling you." She started but he covered her mouth quickly much to Alex's annoyance. Alex grabbed his arm moved his hand away from her mouth. "You're lucky you're related to me or I would have broken that arm." She said with a slight smile. The made their way back into the break room so Alex could gather up her things and say good bye to the group.

"I'm headin out guys. It's been fun." She said to the group after locating her bag and sweater. They congratulated her on a great performance that night. Well all except Joe who watched her from a chair in the corner of the room.

Once Alex had left the building all the guys crowded in around Garbo to hear what their prospective replacement drummer had said to their request. Joe had even moved closer to the group so he could hear what was to be said.

"She was gonna say no but I got her to say she'd think about it I told her I'd call her in the morning to get her answer." He said

"Why would she say no?" asked Joe surprised by Alex's reluctance to join the tour.

"She tried to feed me some crap about her dad needing her and lessons and junk but I don't think that's it. Her dad would think it's great! I don't know. If we want her we're going to have convince her." Garbo replied

"But how?" asked Nick

Almost an hour later Alex had finally made her way home, the lights were out when she pulled into the driveway. She got out of her car and winced slightly at the pain she was beginning to feel where she had landed. ""That's gonna bruise" She said quietly to her self as she made her way across the lawn towards the front door. The front door was unlocked so Alex opened it and made her way into the house locking it behind her. She made her way upstairs to her room and grabbed her pajamas before heading into her bathroom. She turned the shower on nice and hot and undressed slowly careful of her 

sore muscles. She stepped into the steaming shower and stood there for a moment under the hot water letting her stiff muscles relax. As she stood there she thought about her night and smiled to herself. Apart from the bout on nerves it had been a lot of fun. But her Dad would need her at the store. No she couldn't abandon him, he needed her. The guys were really nice though and it would be awesome to be able to spend more time with Greg. They hadn't really seen each other since she moved. But that Joe, what an ego maniac, you know one of those guys who was just used to girls, the kind of girls who give girls a bad name, falling all over him. The only thing he had going for him was he was attractive. She shook her head when she realized what she had just thought. 'I must be over exhausted if I'm thinking like that' she thought. Alex quickly finished her shower and got out into the now steamy bathroom. She dried off and put on her pajamas and wiped off the mirror with her towel to observe her reflection. Her long brown hair hanging in wet ringlets around her face. She made some faces at herself in the mirror as she braided her hair in to two. Alex made her way back into her room and laid down on her bed facing her night stand which held a lamp, alarm clock and a picture of a delicate looking woman with the same hair as Alex who appeared to be laughing at something. Alex looked at this picture for a moment before saying "I love you mom." and turning out her lamp.


	3. Ambushed

**Hey everyone! Thanks to all of you who have read, and reviewed! Special thanks to Wildcurl788, dyingangelx3 and blessed-with-a-curse you guys rock! Anywho here's the next chapter! Enjoy! Oh and please review let me know how you think I'm doing so far. Spanks!**

**Oh and agin I own notheing except Alex and even then I wonder if I own her sometimes. LOL!**

* * *

Alex awoke to the sound of voices coming from the lower level of the home she shared with her father. Sunlight was filtering it way through the blinds covering her window. Alex glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table and it read 9:05 am. She groaned and rolled away from the window trying to block the sunlight from her eyes. Just as she started to drift back to sleep she heard a light knock on her door followed by the voice of her father. "Alexis, honey? You have company. Are you awake?" he said softly.

"No" she groaned and placed her pillow over her head to block out anything else her father would say. 'Who on earth would be here at this time to see me?' she thought as she struggled to fall back asleep. She was slowly starting to drift off again when she thought she heard her door slowly open. Assuming it was her father checking on her Alex remained motionless almost back asleep. Suddenly Alex awoke with a jolt someone had just jumped onto her bed. Wanting to know who her assailant was Alex peaked out from under her pillow to see Greg smiling down at her from his position standing on the bed.

"Go away!" protested a tired Alex as she hid her head under her pillow again muttering a string of curse words at her cousin.

"Hey now, that is no way for a lady to talk." Greg replied mockingly as he leapt off the bed and took a seat beside her on the bed. He yanked the pillow off her head to reveal a disgruntled looking Alex, her curly brown hair in disarray.

"First off I am no Lady." stated Alex "Secondly I learnt those words from you cuz." she said teasingly.

"Well don't let you Dad know that or he'll never let you hang out with me again." he said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." said Alex. "Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked getting a confused look on her face. Suddenly a look of recognition crossed her face. "Greg, if you're here about what we talked about last night, save your breath," she began.

"Cool your jets. Come downstairs we can chat over breakfast, your Dad made pancakes." He said and with that he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of bed.

"You are just way too much of a morning person. Did you know that?" Alex mumbled as she stretched slowly and yawned.

"No I'm not your just too much of a night owl." He stated pointedly. Alex made a face at him. "And your too slow!" he exclaimed as he picked her up and carried her flung over one shoulder and carried her down the stairs. Alex kicked him as he carried her."Keep that up and I'll drop you." He teased. Alex quickly stopped kicking him but continued to protest verbally.

Alex hated when people picked her up. Having been very small when she was younger so people had always been picking her up against her will and Greg had been one of the people who had done it the most, because he knew how much she detested it. "Put me down!" she squealed and suddenly she found herself on the kitchen floor at the feet of a laughing Greg. Alex muttered another string of curse words under her breath.

"What was that you said?" asked her cousin with a mischievous grin on his face.  
Alex was about to tell him when she heard the patio door slide open. It was her father, biting her tongue she muttered "Oh I am soooo getting you back for that." Greg just laughed.

"Ah there you are sweetheart. I thought we'd eat breakfast outside since it's such a nice morning." he said with a wink at Greg.

Alex looked between the two men confused and then just shrugged it off. The three of them made their way out of the door and towards the gazebo that was positioned off to one side of their yard next to the pool behind some shrubs. As Alex came around the side of the largest bush she stopped. There seated around the table was Kevin, Joe, Nick, Ryan, John and another man she had never met before. She smiled weakly before turning around to scowl at the two men who had deceived her. "Why didn't you tell me they were here." She muttered to her father a cross look on her face.

"I told you that you had company." He whispered to her with a sly smile. Ale shot a dirty look at her cousin and then suddenly grew very self conscious about her appearance, she was still in the tank top and shorts she had worn to bed and hadn't even glanced in a mirror yet. Sensing what she had been thinking her father smiled at her and whispered "You look fine Lexi."

Alex turned grudgingly to greet her guests with a smile."Hey guys I didn't expect to be seeing you so soon."

"Sorry to surprise you like this Alex." said Kevin apologetically. "We kinda figured it would be the only way."

"The only way to what?" asked Alex confused.

"To get you to join us on tour." piped in Nick.

"Guys I already Greg, I have obligations here to my Dad." She said as she shot a pleading look at her father as if begging for his help. "And my students." She added on when it appeared her father wasn't going to be helping her.

"Lexi." Her dad said as he pushed her towards her seat. "Greg called me last night to fill me in and I think this is a great opportunity for you."

"But what about the store." She argued.

"The store will be fine I have Mark there to help me and I'll take over you lessons." He added.

"I couldn't leave you here all alone all summer." She sputtered.

"I think I can handle a few months by myself. I am a grown man after all." He said. "I think this would be good," He paused. "For both of us."

Lost for an argument Alex sat there looking stubborn.

"Come on Alex. It'll be fun I promise!" Greg said starting to make his puppy dog face again.

"And if you absolutely hate it you can come home anytime." Her father added.

Feeling defeated Alex hid her face in her hands for a moment and then looked up at the faces around the table all looking hopeful. Alex was surprised to see that even Joe had an interested look on his face, but when he saw her look at him he quickly changed his expression to one of disinterest. 'Hmmm, does pretty boy actually care if I do it?' she mused then quickly changed her train of thoughts. 'I know I don't have a good enough excuse to not do it.' She sighed to herself. "Okay, I'll do it." She 

muttered.

The group cheered rather loudly causing a neighbor who had been tending to her garden to peek over the fence to see what was going on. Alex noticed this and waved to the now embarrassed neighbor who quickly ducked back down much to the amusement of the group gathered around the table.

After a very filling and chatty breakfast during which Alex and her father had been filled in on the plans of the group for the summer by the mystery guest who had turned out to be Mr. Jonas, the boys father. Alex had found herself up in her room packing for her trip. Nick had decided to accompany her and was sitting on her bed as Alex rifled through her closet tossing things into two piles.

"I'm glad you decided to do this Alex." He said as she pulled out a particularly frilly pink dress and made a face and tossed it into the pile furthest away from her. "You won't regret it." He said and she pulled open a drawer on her dresser and started to filter through a pile of jeans.

"Is that a promise curly?" she asked him as she cast him a sly smile.

"I promise." He said as he placed his hand across his heart.

Alex laughed at this and walked over to sit next to him on the bed. She ruffled his hair and then looked at him as though she was going to ask a question. She remained silent and shook her head and then began stuffing the clothing she had decided to take with her in a surprisingly small duffle bag.

"Is that all your going to bring with you?" Nick asked her referring to the bag.

"It's all that's worth bringing." Alex sighed "Most of the rest of my clothes are work clothes or things I wouldn't dream of wearing that my Grandmother bought me. I probably should get some new stuff." She paused to look around her room to make sure she had everything. She grabbed the photo of her mom off her bedside table and shoved it into her bag and zipped it closed. "Ok let's hit the road curly." She said as she walked out of her room, leaving it in disarray, followed closely by Nick.

Down in the living room the rest of the band was hanging out while Mr. Jonas and Alex's father, Mr. Miller, were going over some details about the tour. Greg, Ryan and John were sitting on the couch watching some random talk show on the TV while Joe wandered around the room looking at the photos on the walls.

There were lots of pictures of a younger Alex and a woman that must have been Alex's mother. Joe wondered to himself where Alex's mother was now. She obviously wasn't at the house and as far as he could tell there hadn't been a divorce. Most divorced couples didn't have pictures of their ex's hanging all over the walls. Maybe she was away on business he mused.

He continued his walk around the room taking in the snapshots of Alex's life. There was a picture of Alex; it looked like she was no older than ten, grinning behind a set of drums, as he continued around the room the Alex in the pictures continued to age. One of the last pictures was a group photo, in it was a group of about 10 people all dressed in Blue and Yellow gowns and caps. This had to be a graduation photo. Joe scanned the picture for Alex and finally found her; she was standing near the end of the line smiling up at the face of the guy next to her. He stood about half a foot taller than her and had sandy blond hair. He must have been on the football team or something of the like because even under the gown Joe could tell he was muscular. The guy was smiling back at Alex and his arms were around her holding her close. 'That must be her boyfriend', Joe thought to himself, he found himself feeling slightly disappointed but then shook it off. It's not that he didn't think she was cute, she was. Joe stopped this train of thought abruptly. There was no point in falling for a girl who didn't like him; it would just drive him crazy. It would probably be easier to just avoid her. That couldn't be too hard; there would lots of people around during the tour. Joe's thoughts were interrupted when Alex and Nick came down the stairs; Alex was carrying a small duffel bag.

"Is that all your bringing?" Joe asked surprised at the small bag Alex would be bringing with her.

"We can't all have a wardrobe as big as yours." Alex shot at him as the rest of the group snickered.

"Well we should be off." stated Mr. Jonas. "We need to get moving if we want to be in Detroit on time."

The group headed towards the door all saying their goodbyes to Mr. Miller. Greg gave his Uncle a hug and then took Alex's bag and left with the rest giving Alex some time to say goodbye to her father.

Alex went up to her father and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "Have fun." he said in her ear.

Alex released her father and looked at him with concern. "Are you sure you'll be fine without me?" she asked.

"I'll be just fine." He sighed. "Besides you'll have your phone I'll be able to reach you if I need you ok." He said with a smile. "Oh before you go I need to give you something." He said mysteriously and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. "Here take it." He said as he handed it to her.

"Oh Dad I can't take that." she said attempting to push his hand away.

"No take it go buy you're self some new clothes. Buy you're self something nice to wear when you're on stage making your father proud." He said with a grin.

Alex reluctantly took the money from her father and stuffed it into her purse grudgingly. She gave her father one more quick hug and walked out the door.


End file.
